Global games industry sees 11% increase in 2008, Britain biggest winner

The games industry in the world's top three markets saw an overall 11 percent rise in sales last year, according to a joint report from NPD, GfK Chart-Track and Enterbrain.

A brain-melting 409.9 million units were sold in the UK, US and Japan in the 12 months to January, compared to 367.7 million units in the previous year.

The increase in growth comes from both the States and Britain, with respective increases of 15 percent and 26 percent. Japan did not fare as well, experiencing a 13 percent decline in 2008, which can largely be attributed to a decline in portable software, followed by console software.

The UK experienced the largest aggregate growth as well as category growth, with console software experiencing a 38 percent gain, and portable software increasing 6 percent.

Growth in the United States saw console software growth of 22 percent and portable software growth of 2 percent.